Sapphire has announced its latest Radeon 300 series graphics card that will be a part of its new Nitro series, the Radeon R7 360 graphics card.

Based on a well known Bonaire GPU, which was also behind the Radeon R7 260 graphics card, the Radeon R7 360 also packs 768 Stream Processors, 48 TMUs, 16 ROPs and features 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 1625MHz (6.5Gbps effective) and paired up with a 128-bit memory interface. The GPU on the Sapphire Radeon R7 360 Nitro is clocked at 1060MHz.

As you can see from these specifications, the Radeon R7 360 is pretty much identical to the Radeon R7 260 but has slightly higher clocks. In order to make it a bit special, Sapphire has decided to pair it up with its new dual-slot single-fan cooler and use a shorter 17cm long PCB and cooler. Bear in mind that the R7 360 still needs a single 6-pin PCI-Express power connector but it should fit in most mini-ITX builds.

Unfortunately, Sapphire did not reveal any details regarding the price or the availability date but a quick check shows plenty of Radeon R7 360 graphics cards listed for around US $109.99 in the US and around €110 in Europe.

AMD’s new Rx200 series has a new member, the $109 R7 260. Based on the Bonaire core, the 260 features 768 stream processors, 48 texture units and 16 ROPs, which puts it right between the 260X and the old HD 7770, based on Cape Verde silicon.

The “full Bonaire” R7 260X features 896 cores, 56 texture units and 16 ROPs. The differences don’t end there. The 260X ships with 2GB of memory clocked at 6.5GHz effective, while the new 260 ends up with 1GB clocked at 6GHz (effective). Of course, both cars use the same 128-bit bus. The boost clock is 1GHz.

The 260 also has a lower TDP, 95W vs. 115W. Partners have been given the green light to launch custom cards and the relatively low TDP might make the 260 suitable for passive coolers. The fastest passively cooled R7 card at the moment is the R7 250.

This trimmed down Bonaire card does have one thing going for it. It is priced at just $109, making it $30 cheaper than the R7 260X. This makes it cheaper than most Nvidia GTX 650 cards and it ends up halfway between the GTX 650 and GTX 640, yet it’s based on relatively fresh Bonaire silicon with GCN 1.1 cores.

AMD’s new R9 and R7 Radeons are still a few weeks from hitting retail, but we are already hearing talk of new cards in the pipeline. This was more or less obvious, as AMD introduced six new models at GPU 14, leaving plenty of room for some XT and Pro versions to fill in the gaps. Basically the line-up is still incomplete.

The high end part of the lineup is already covered by 280-series cards and the 290X, so most of the new stuff comes in the sub-$299 segment. The only exception is of course the R9 290, or Hawaii Pro card that should end up priced over $400.

Moving down the ladder, the R9 280 is still missing in action and everyone expects it to be a Tahiti Pro rebrand with a $249 price tag. Then there’s the R9 270X, which is a bit of a puzzle. The R9 270X is apparently a Tahiti LE derived chip and the plain 270 should be more of the same, provided it makes financial sense to stick a Tahiti chip in a sub-$200 product.

The R7 260X is a bit more interesting, since it appears to be based on all-new Bonaire silicon (TrueAudio support is a dead giveaway). There’s still no word on a possible R7 260 which could be a very cheap high-volume product with. The 260X is priced at $139, but there’s no word on 260 pricing.

Digitimes reports AMD is also planning to introduce the R7 240, an entry level product apparently based on the Oland core. Like we said last week, AMD’s launch could cause a lot more trouble for Nvidia in the mid-range and low-end than most punters expected. Unsurprisingly, Digitimes claims Nvidia is already moving to counter the R7 and R9 with two “new” products in the $199 to $249 and $99 to $149 range and the new cards are supposedly coming in November. There is still no word on AMD's schedule.

But here’s the problem. Even if this is true, the new Nvidia cards won't be really new. Nvidia could roll out another rebrand in the $199 to $249 segment, since AMD covered this particular segment with rebrands of its own. However, Nvidia’s alleged “$99 to $149 card” would also have to be a rebrand – and it would have to take on the new R7 260X, which won’t be easy.

In addition, Nvidia may be forced to slash the prices of GTX 780 and Titan cards, but it all depends on 290/290X benchmarks and prices which have yet to materialize. The first leaks look good for AMD, but it’s too early to jump to any conclusions.